Now Playing in Japan

New Sony products Famitsu Weekly recently interviewed 70 game companies and asked what they thought of the PS One, the new PS2 Hard Disk Drive (HDD) and the cell phone adapter.

What do you think of the new PS2 hard drive? Greatly welcome it- 44.3% Welcome it- 40.3% No feelings toward it- 15.4%

Are you interested in services using a network? Definitely want to participate- 16% Researching the possiblity- 28% Wait and see- 52% Not really thinking about it- 4%

Which of the three recently announced products are you most interested in? PS-One 16% Cell phone adapter 28% Hard disk drive 56%

The rapidly disappearing PSX PSX sales are almost dropping off the map. Only 245 units were sold during the week of 6/5- 6/11. Of course, that means that everybody is buying the PS2, which sold 79,393 units for the same time period. The upcoming PS-One probably won't help sales of the original PSX either. It's looking like it's about time Sony reduced the price, which I believe has been the same for a number of years now (14000 yen).

Famitsu Reviews Persona 2 Eternal Punishment- (8,8,8,8) The game uses basically the same engine as the previous game, but has added new elements to the mix. It's not necessary to have played the first one, but may enrich the overall experience.

Scandal- (8,6,8,8) The PS2's anime "Yarudora," which essentially means interactive drama. The anime graphics are good, with no load times and you can adjust the size and shape of the screen. However Famitsu breaks it down, it's still basically a FMV game, with anime instead of video.

J-League Jikkyou Winning Eleven 2000- (8,8,7,8) With less than a month to go until the PS2 version is released, Konami will release the PS version on June 29th. This game focuses on the Japanese professional league, so you won't get all of the national teams like in the recent FIFA PS2 game. The graphics and motion are of high quality, which has become a standard for this popular series.

TVDJ- (7,7,8,9) Sony's odd mix of Parappa with a TV scored pretty well, even if is a bit odd. The reviewers all agreed the game is fun, but one thing I noticed after playing the demo is that is hard if not impossible to watch the program you're making and the bar at the same time.

Romance on the PS2 There is a simple ad in this week's Famitsu for Koei's next Romance of the Three Kingdoms game for the PS2. Titled, Sangokushi VII (Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII), it is due out this summer for a price of 8,800 yen. The format isn't listed, but knowing Koei, it will probably appear on a DVD.

PS2 release dates The mech goodness known as Armored Core 2 has been finally given an actual date. Mark your import calendars for July 27th. Price and format are still undetermined.

The launch title that has suffered numerous delays and is known as American Arcade, looks like it may finally see the light of day. It also is due out this July 27th. Looking at the competition, perhaps not the wisest choice. Pinball sim vs. mechs, hmm......

Shin-sangoku musou, aka Dynasty Warriors 2, is set for an August 3rd release.

Both ASCII's surfer Surfroid and Konami's musical RPG Reiselied are due out this August 10th.